Election Results and First Thoughts

Howie Hawkins sent a message to Green lists last night, thanking them for putting their hearts into a stellar campaign and talking about how their 40% of the vote changed the political landscape of Syracuse. A clip:

The turnout citywide was a record low by far. Only in the highly contested 4th District, where Greens and Democrats were fully engaged in intensive canvassing of the voters, did the total vote remain as high as the previous mayoral election. Take credit for that.

Every Green vote was a conscious vote. Most of the Democratic votes were automatic default votes. The Dems are losing voters citywide, while the Greens are gaining. Syracuse remains a one-party Democratic city government, but it has a real and growing opposition from the Greens.

- In Astoria Queens, Lynne Serpe won second for City Council with almost 15% of the vote, handily beat the Republican candidate by over 3.5%. See more NYC returns at NY1.com.